CLEARWATER, Fla. — In two days, the slow unveiling of the 2013 Phillies will begin.

It starts with pitchers and catchers reporting, and the concerns start from the top.

Roy Halladay, starter of the last three opening-day games, winner of the 2010 National League Cy Young, runner-up in 2011, already has had low-key mound sessions observed by pitching coach Rich Dubee and few others.

There will be no more privacy come Tuesday. The last time Halladay threw a pitch in public view, he was laboring through five innings against a dysfunctional Miami Marlins team mere weeks away from having a gradual dismantling made swift by a wrecking ball.

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Halladay got the win despite giving up three runs in the first inning and needing 90 pitches to get to the minimum innings for the decision. The only thing that made the sight of the erstwhile top right-hander in baseball seem encouraging at all was the memory of his previous start — a disaster against the Braves during which he allowed seven runs and didn’t make it out of the second inning.

Aside from back-to-back gems against the Diamondbacks and Cardinals in early August, the Halladay that returned from a six-week convalescence for a strained shoulder was difficult to watch. For a pitcher who turns 36 in May, it’s tough to expect him to return to his full elite form in 2013. What he, the Phillies and the fans anxiously await is whether those unsightly final two months were a harbinger, or whether the big right-hander can get some air under his wings and turn his age-induced descent into a gentle glide instead of an inglorious nosedive.

That is where the spotlight will shine brightest the first few days, but the pitching staff does have other matters. With the Phillies no longer financially obligated to tolerate Joe Blanton, Kyle Kendrick no longer has to be a migrant between the rotation and bullpen. The 28-year-old made 25 starts in 2012, and in the final 10 — after Blanton was traded away and Kendrick’s role given certitude — he went 7-3 with a 2.43 ERA. Ironically, it was his presence that offered a cushion while Halladay sputtered.

The final rotation slot seems to be John Lannan’s to lose, and considering the veteran left-hander was treated rather shoddily when he went from a staple in the Nationals’ rotation for four years, to a Triple-A banishment in 2012, he should have incentive to prove his big-league worth with one of Washington’s chief rivals.

The Phillies’ bullpen went from an abomination in the first half of last season to a strength once Chad Qualls was cut and hung like an albatross around the neck of the Yankees (then the Pirates). Jonathan Papelbon pitched like the top-of-the-line closer the Phils paid him to be, but it was Antonio Bastardo regaining his footing after a shaky first half and the surprisingly competent performances of rookies like Jeremy Horst and Phillippe Aumont that put out the fires.

In case some of the young pitchers fell into the sophomore-slump syndrome, the Phillies signed veteran Mike Adams — although he comes with concerns of his own. A nerve and circulation problem in Adams’ throwing arm last season turned a guy who was one of the best set-up men in the league for years into a dime-a-dozen pitcher. He had surgery to remove a rib that theoretically had caused the issue, but time will tell.

Even the catchers aren’t spared from scrutiny. Carlos Ruiz will participate in camp, but once the Phillies head to Atlanta for the opening series of the regular season, the veteran catcher will serve 25 games in exile thanks to a failed drug test. That makes Erik Kratz the de facto starter in April. Kratz, a longtime minor-league veteran, came on like gangbusters when he was called up in late July, launching seven homers in a 58 at-bat span. But his bat came back to earth in September — although his catching skills remained impressive enough for the Phils to feel he earned this opportunity.

Three days later, the position players formally report, including an infield creaky with aging and injuries, and an outfield young and unproven.

The Phillies had some of the worst production at the corner infield spots in baseball last season. At first base they are banking on Ryan Howard returning to form after he hobbled his way through a sad second half, his repaired Achilles’ tendon in need of strength.

“I think the power’s still there,” Charlie Manuel said this winter. “I think it’s just a matter of him getting some at-bats and playing.

“I look for him to have a big year.”

At third they are counting on a veteran who only will be an upgrade provided he plays nothing like the guy he was in Texas last year. Michael Young led the American League in hits in 2011 (213), but took a hard nosedive last season.

Did we mention he’s 36 and only started 64 games at third base the last two seasons combined?

Chase Utley’s knees remain an infinite concern, although everyone who watched him in the final three months believed his revamped strengthening program had brought some of the pop back to his bat despite what his .256 batting average said.

In the outfield, Darin Ruf was the organization’s feel-good story last season when he hit 20 home runs for Double-A Reading in August, and after annoyingly sitting on the Phillies’ bench for a few weeks in September, started the final nine games and had three homers and nine RBIs in those games. Ruf went to the Venezuelan Winter League for outfield seasoning, hit several more bombs there, and has the left field waiting for him — provided his bat stays hot and his glove tolerable.

The Phillies made a couple of lackluster stabs at outfield free agents, then spun a trade for young, speedy Twins center fielder Ben Revere in the hopes that he’ll cover ground and infuse some energy into an aging team.

Right field is where the curiosity piques. Dom Brown and John Mayberry, both disappointments in 2012, are still around. Joining them is Delmon Young, whose weight ballooned and performance sagged last season in Detroit.

There promises to be scrutiny surrounding Manuel, who is in the final year of his contract and rumored to be on a forced retirement plan. But the offseason also brought cockeyed stares in the direction of general manager Ruben Amaro Jr., who might have gone with low-risk additions this winter, but easily could find that none of the Phillies’ areas of need are addressed suitably because of that strategy.

Tuesday, the curtains open and the opening scene known as spring training begins.